October 2012
Critically Acclaimed Director Luis
Argueta on
Educational Tour For His Film abUSed:
The Postville Raid &
His Up-Coming Documentary The U-turn
This fall, Luis Argueta, award winning
director of The Silence of Neto, will continue touring colleges, high
schools, faith-based and community groups, as well as immigration and labor
conferences, to present his documentary abUSed: The Postville Raid and
his upcoming project The U-Turn.
abUSed: The Postville
Raid weaves
together the personal stories of those directly affected by the largest, most
brutal and expensive Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in the history
of the United States. The documentary presents the human face of immigration,
the socioeconomic forces that fuel it, and serves as a cautionary tale against
government abuses.
The Postville raid resulted in the
separation of families, the traumatization of children, and the devastation of
communities. Today, silent raids and the criminalization of immigrants, even
for the most minor offenses, produce these same effects. Every day we have the
equivalent of three Postvilles as 1,086 people are deported 365 days a year.
David W. Leopold, former president of
the American Immigration Lawyers Association says the film “is an important
messenger of the truth. It eloquently tells the story of the people of
Postville, and their suffering at the hands of a broken immigration
system…(and) will provide millions of people with a disturbing picture of the
dark side of American Justice; a system that has victimized so many good people.”
The story of the Postville raid is not
just about immigration, but how the rule of law was neglected, how the
Constitution was trampled, how due process was overlooked and how the rights of
immigrant workers were cast aside.
Argueta’s new documentary, The
U-Turn, illustrates the transformational journey of a group of immigrant
families and of the individuals and communities who supported them after the
Postville raid. The film showcases the U visa, an immigration relief in much
need of dissemination among, and understanding by, immigrants, immigration
rights-advocates and law-enforcement.
Mr. Argueta has
presented at a variety of forums including, Harvard University, Yale University,
the University of Northern Iowa, The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and Loyola
University in Chicago, CUNY Law School, John Jay College of Criminal Justice,
Cornell University, the University of Michigan, The University of Arizona; The
1st. and 2nd Continental Forums on Migration and Peace in
Guatemala and Colombia; fourteen international film festivals, and the OIM/CMS
Conference on Irregular Migration for the UN Permanent delegates in NYC.
Presentations include an introductory
talk by Mr. Argueta, a screening of segments of the film or the complete film,
and a Q&A session. To view the trailer please visit: www.abusedthepostvilleraid.com.
If you are interested
in hosting Mr. Argueta please contact us
at mayamediac@gmail.com or send a voice message to (646 470.7328)
for more information.
for more information.